The Cinematography of “Taipei Story” Film Essay

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Edward Yang was a rather famous and one of the leading Taiwanese filmmakers. One of his most well-known works is the Taipei Story, a 1985 drama. It has incredible camera movements, shot angles, and composition that are used as a visual language for depicting the tensions between the characters, old and new, and each person’s relationship to the city. The movie opens with office-worker Chin and her boyfriend Lung, a former baseball player, examining Chin’s new apartment. Her off-camera footsteps change to a two-shot of the couple. Each of them is standing in front of a separate pane of a sliding glass door and is presented from behind. This loneliness, while being side to side without facing each other, is demonstrated with the incredible camera movements. Chin and Lung are together in the flat, but they are always captured singly as they circulate through the apartment. Yang’s camera frequently shoots the couple through space’s series of thresholds. Moreover, the characters and the camera have a special way to examine and feel the space of the unfurnished room.

This film also shows a picture of Taiwan in the mid-1980s that is filled with conflicting Japanese and American cultural influences. The music of Michael Jackson is contrasted with Fuji Film’s huge neon billboard. A karaoke bar attracts one of the characters more than an artificial American pub. However, these things are considered as surroundings, part of the staging area because Yang almost never uses close-ups, but instead relies mainly on medium-width shots. As for the characters’ relationship to the city, not all of them are ready for the changes. Lung is not comfortable with the form Taiwan takes, but Chin greets the new opportunities that come as the city transforms. Yang’s scenes of alienated urban structures are often stunning; throughout the film, he rather easily turns a banal image into an unusual one. In addition, his narrative approach brings frequent surprises in terms of emotional impact. Some scenes end or pause after an unpleasant truth is revealed between the characters or after an awkward question is asked. As a rule, Yang does not hide information but uses this device to increase the viewers’ participation.

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